The power of the personal brand - Lewis Hamilton

Further to Lewis Hamilton's negotiations about the 2013 season we now know that he will be driving for Mercedes AMG F1. Hamilton was a 13 year old go karter when he signed for McLaren and although the 27-year-old has plenty of time on his side, it seems he could not wait any longer. He is leaving...but why?

Given the fact that McLaren initially proposed a cut in salary, with Martin Whitmarsh replacing his mentor Ron Dennis as team principal, and McLaren not being able to give him a car to win a title since 2008, the time was right to make a decision.


I am sure that with this history of frustration Mercedes looked like a better move on several fronts. This could be his riskiest career move but it could also be wonderfully astute.


XIX Entertainment will take a large cut of the contract and of any future fees but in the legal world of sports marketing and contracts Hamilton is now free to pursue the power of the personal brand - Brand Hamilton.

With XIX Entertainment and Mercedes, Lewis will have greater freedom to pursue personal sponsors to match his on track earnings, boost his global personality and his mainstream celebrity.


Also on XIX's client roster are US Open Grand Slam winner and 2012 Olympics double medal winner Andy Murray as well as David Beckham. Beckham's move to LA Galaxy mirrors Hamilton's move, and has actually meant that Beckham has been able to spend more time building his personal brand. However would Beckham have traded in some of those millions to be able to actually play in the Olympics in 2012? Who knows!

So what are the key steps to personal branding in sports?


Aaker’s (1997) conceptualisation of Brand Personality features five dimensions: Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication and Ruggedness, each comprised of a 
number of individual personality traits that are appliucable here.
Sincerity represents warmth and acceptance; Excitement represents sociability, energy and activity; Competence represents responsibility, dependability and security; Sophistication represents class and charm; and Ruggedness 
represents masculinity and strength.

Looking at some enduring icons in sport we can learns some lessons about creating a unique and vibrant brand that include these elements:

GOOD, PERSONAL ICONIC BRANDING
Ian Poulter in golf; Ian has 1.4m followers on twitter, and his own clothing range with his IJP logo. Others include Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg in tennis, Michael "Air" Jordan, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Luol Deng, basketball 

BE AUTHENTIC AND CONSISTENT
The most memorable ads for me were the curse of the Gillette Three ads that one minute had Tiger Woods, Thierry Henry and Roger Federer and then 2 scandals later just Roger Federer!



BUILD YOUR PERSONAL REPUTATION
Your reputation = your brand. Please note Mr Woods above who lost a raft of sponsorship deals after an incident involving a 9 iron, a car, a fire hydrant and his wife.

David Beckham and his Olympic involvement created a wonderful brand personality that was James Bond like.

Social media profiles and interaction with fans is crucial, as is fan acquisition is this ever present digital age.



BUILD YOUR STRATEGIC BRAND ASSOCIATIONS
Build partnerships that are symbiotic - take the recent O2 and Nike brand partnership - sheer genius!

Rolex partnerships with golf, sailing, tennis and with brand personalities like Roger Federer, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzanegger et al.



BE MEMORABLE - LEVERAGE WHO YOU ARE
Mike Tyson, always memorable, never forgotten, but he is an icon for boxing and could leverage himself further with product endorsements.



The future is bright for Lewis as one of the most marketable athletes in F1. His biggest current deal is with Reebok, which pays him $3 million annually and he earned an estimated $28 million in salary and endorsements between June 2011 and June 2012.

So not only has he signed a 3 year deal with Mercedes that is estimated to be worth at least $24 million a year in salary, but he will massively boost his personal brand and future earnings by a similar amount.


The power of personal branding.